WEDNESDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2015 07:17 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 
Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 
WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
2nd December 1823
The Monroe Doctrine is issued
The Monroe Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy regarding domination of the American continent in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. At the same time, the doctrine noted that the United States would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued in 1823 at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved or were at the point of gaining independence from the Portuguese and Spanish Empires. The United States, working in agreement with Great Britain, wanted to guarantee that no European power would move in.

President James Monroe first stated the doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. The term "Monroe Doctrine" itself was coined in 1850. By the end of the nineteenth century, Monroe's declaration was seen as a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets. It would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and many others.

The intent and impact of the Monroe Doctrine persisted with only minor variations for more than a century. Its alleged objective was to free the newly independent colonies of Latin America from European intervention and avoid situations which could make the New World a battleground for the Old World powers, so that the United States could exert its own influence undisturbed. The doctrine asserted that the New World and the Old World were to remain distinctly separate spheres of influence, for they were composed of entirely separate and independent nations.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Shopping
Housework
Meditation
Me Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,042 (up 3)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
-
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
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New Followers followed back = 2
@igornaming, @igleask
Spammers not followed back = 1
@HpFe3Gsg_Fauzi

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

I have gone two days without meditation and have that "raw" feeling as a consequence. Though this is not good and I will redress this deficit today, it did serve a useful purpose - I realized that this is how most people feel all the time! Of course they don't recognize it as a deficiency - it's just feeling normal to them. It's like you don't notice the whirring of a fan until it's switched off. 

There is complete willful ignorance in my culture of the need for mind-maintenance - things you have to DO in order to maintain your mental health. Because I've done it for years, I can feel the difference very quickly when I neglect it. I now know the difference, which is a very good incentive to keep up with it.

I am no believer in "good old days", "golden ages" or Shangri-La's - there's never been a society or a time when the whole of the population lived orderly and healthy lives. This is because of the Laws of Physics - the balance of forces. There is always positive and negative coexisting - the alternative is nothingness! However, individuals can create Shangri-La for themselves if they choose to shed their willful ignorance and research how to achieve as I did. 

It takes discipline to achieve a healthy mind and discipline to keep it, and those that do become someone new - a better person.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Do you believe you can have MORE?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry, mild and clear start
Showers arrive mid-morning, light and scattered at first
By mid-afternoon, showers will merge into continuous light rain
Rain turns heavy mid-evening and will persist thereafter
A moderate to strong south-westerly will ease and swing north-easterly by late evening
Moon: 

Weathertrack: A cold front arriving from the west will become static over central Britain by this evening

Air Pressure: 1015 millibars and rising slightly

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

How did the inventor of the clock know what time it was? :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Dave Pegg - The Superfast Train

8. TRIVIA

Love is not necessarily a guarantee that a marriage will last. Other factors include a couple’s age (a husband who is 9 or more years older than his wife or who marries before the age of 24 is more likely to divorce), those who are in their 2nd or 3rd marriage, those who had a child before marriage, and finances. Not pertinent to success of marriage are the number of children or their ages, the wife’s employment status, & the number of years a wife has been employed.

9. ZEN WISDOM

The courage to meet and talk with people is absolutely crucial. Choosing dialogue is itself the triumph of peace and of humanity.